Creativity, open source, and patents

Hey all, I just thought this was an interesting, albeit maybe a little long, video which addresses creativity, open source and copyright laws and how technology interplays and is innovating these things. I was wondering what y'all's thoughts are on this video and on copyright and intellectual property in general. Enjoy the video!

Here's the link again: http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html

Debating the Burke Society!

As some of you may already have heard, a few of our brave number have taken up the task of initiating a battle of reason and ideas against the UVA's Conservative debating organization, Burke Society. Although we, of course, have the advantage when it comes to having a consistent and well thought out philosophy, we can't afford to underestimate the rhetorical skills and debating experience of the Burke Society. Therefore at this week's Classical Liberal Roundtable I invite you all to proffer the very best arguments you can summon up in defense of Liberty.

The issue to debate are the "Moral and Ethical Basis of Government Involvement in Social Issues". This gives us a wide field to play in and I expect us to be able to gather quite a few great arguments and real world examples in support of those arguments.

We should also keep in mind who we will be debating when collecting our most potent arguments. Keeping in mind that the Burke Society, like any modern conservative group, will be used to debating modern Liberal ideas which are, at best, based on a subjective utilitarian calculus instead of truly solid principles like the ones Libertarians can bring forth. Therefore I suggest we stress our principles and ethics rather then simply trying to argue for why Liberty is better for pragmatic reasons. Hopefully in this way we can use the Burke Society's debate experience against them to catch them off guard by using arguments they've never had to face before.

Another strategy we might want to keep in mind is that there are some issues that the conservatives demand liberty in, and we can use those cases to show them how their arguments are inconsistent and which actually aid the cause of the Statist Democrats. For example since we are talking about the role of government in social issues we can again catch the Burke Society off guard by arguing for stronger gun rights. We should keep in mind that our goal is not merely to defeat them, but to convince them.

Even if you, yourself, are not one of those lucky few who volunteered to participate in this debate, this will be your chance to indirectly help us fight for the cause of human Liberty. I look forward to that this weekend!

Warrants for Cell-Site Information? Why Bother!

So cell phone towers record a modest amount of information about our daily lives, such as who we speak to on the phone and where we are located every minute (really, though, next time your iPhone loses reception, perhaps you should celebrate). With such an immense amount of tantalizing personal information being recorded in the digital age, the government would prefer if it didn't have to deal with pesky and old-fashioned warrants.

Related: ACLU Sues over Border Laptop Searches

France Passes Burqa Ban

The French Government has long been critical of this Muslim form of dress and has finally banned it completely from public, claiming it to be a security concern and an affront to French values. Is this legitimate? Could this happen in the U.S.?

In a vaguely similar story, a North Carolina high school banned a teen from wearing a nose piercing. The student, however, claims the piercing is part of her religion.

N.C. School Bans Nose Piercing

The Tea Party: Same Awful Republicans That Have Been Around For Years

Glenn Greenwald (probably my favorite political blogger) gives a scathing criticism of the Tea Party as well as the oligarchic nature of our political system. Definitely worth a read.

ACLU Fights U.S. Government's Targeted Killing Policy

Unsurprisingly, the ACLU as well as the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) believe the federal government's claimed authority to kill U.S. citizens outside of conflict zones without trial and without oversight is a frightening and spectacular abuse of power.

Lions on Grounds - a semi farce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piWCBOsJr-w

Watch that first. Lions should be allowed on Grounds. Well no, probably not, but now that you have some context as to my poorly contrived joke, what I really wanted to bring up is self-defense on grounds, most notably concealed carry. I was curious as to what people's thoughts and feelings are on the issue. There used to be a Students for Concealed Carry on Grounds, although the group is now defunct. If you don't really know much about Concealed Carry on Campus check out Students for Concealed Carry's site: http://www.concealedcampus.org/ . Also, another thing to think about is University of Virginia is a Public school and thus should be bound by the Second Amendment - like it is the First Amendment. So while Private Schools could, rightly in my opinion, ban guns on grounds, the argument that UVA can is somewhat more tenuous.

Quran burning controversy. Is Gainesville, Florida trying to suppress free speech and should we be angry?

So a pastor in Gainesville, Florida named Terry Jones has plans to burn several hundred copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

The Gainesville Fire Department has already denied Jones a permit to carry out this event.

Is this action by the city of Gainesville really about fire safety? Or is it about trying to keep controversial speech quiet?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100908/pl_yblog_upshot/even-pastors-old-church-condemns-quran-burning

The Myth of the Rule of Law

"I refer to the myth of the rule of law because, to the extent this phrase suggests a society in which all are governed by neutral rules that are objectively applied by judges, there is no such thing. As a myth, however, the concept of the rule of law is both powerful and dangerous. Its power derives from its great emotive appeal. The rule of law suggests an absence of arbitrariness, an absence of the worst abuses of tyranny. The image presented by the slogan "America is a government of laws and not people" is one of fair and impartial rule rather than subjugation to human whim. This is an image that can command both the allegiance and affection of the citizenry. After all, who wouldn't be in favor of the rule of law if the only alternative were arbitrary rule? But this image is also the source of the myth's danger. For if citizens really believe that they are being governed by fair and impartial rules and that the only alternative is subjection to personal rule, they will be much more likely to support the state as it progressively curtails their freedom.

In this Article, I will argue that this is a false dichotomy. Specifically, I intend to establish three points: 1) there is no such thing as a government of law and not people, 2) the belief that there is serves to maintain public support for society's power structure, and 3) the establishment of a truly free society requires the abandonment of the myth of the rule of law."

I posted this because I felt as if we began to vaguely discuss the edges of this topic at the most recent CLR. The article is a little long, but really worth the read. I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this, and if you do agree with John Hasnas's argument, any thoughts on what should be done? Or what implications this has?

Corboda House Controversy

For those of you who don't pay attention to the ever changing fashions of popular political controversy, here is what you're currently missing out on:

In downtown Manhattan a very large, very expensive building is under construction. No, It's not quite at ground zero, it will most likely still be years before any plans for the replacement of the Twin Towers are decided on. This building is two blocks North of the World Trade center's previous location. What makes this particular building of note is that it is an Islamic Cultural Center, and will include a Mosque on its top two floors. Dubbed by some as the "Ground Zero Mosque" by some, the plans have become a lightning rod for controversy and has seemed to split all political parties, and religious groups into opposing camps. One side sees the building as being and obscene celebration of 9-11, a "victory mosque", similar to the Corboda Mosque built in the Caliphate's Capital in Islamic Spain in the past. Others argue that the Imam representing the Corboda House has had nothing but a positive reputation for tolerant and peace loving Muslim Americans and that this Islamic center, open to all, is an Islamic project for tolerance and mutual understanding. Both sides of the issue have fiery opinions and have unleashed many arguments and information or various qualities and levels of honesty, but both sides of the issue do seem to agree that it is sizing up to be a significant influence on the upcoming elections.

It would be an interesting experience to see how a variety of Liberty minded people have to say on the subject who might otherwise agree with each other on many issues.

Democracy Exposed

Democracy is often heralded as one of the most essential aspects of modern free societies. But is democracy itself an intrinsic good for society or does it serve to further a different, more fundamental and truly intrinsic, value?

If democracy is indeed highly essential for Just modern societies can the current centuries old US system, which seems to have permanently relegated its citizens to picking amongst only two choices, which ignores up to 49% of all voters, and which has been plagued with concerns over such things as gerrymandering, truly provide the nation with fullest benefits that democracy can provide?

The US Republic was the fist modern democratic system and more closely resembles an exotic prototype then a rigorously tested and perfected piece of machinery. After two centuries of experience, as well as witnessing the democratic revolution of much of the world, it should be well past time to re-examine our democratic Republic and suggest ways in which it can be improved.

Warrantless GPS tracking on your car? Government says it's ok!

Pineda-Moreno's constitutional rights were, clearly I believe, violated by a warrantless GPS tracker attached to his car in an attempt to bust a marijuana growing operation.

"In the 10-page ruling, two of the Ninth Circuit judges held that the DEA agents did not violate Pineda-Moreno's constitutional rights. The judges ruled that because Pineda-Moreno's had not taken specific steps to exclude passersby from his driveway -- by installing a gate or posting no trespassing signs, for instance -- he could not claim reasonable privacy expectations.

The Ninth Circuit panel ruled that the actions by the agents were comparable to the delivery of newspapers to the house, or the retrieval of a ball accidentally thrown under the vehicle by a neighbor."